FAQ

In the frequently asked question section (FAQs), you will find answers to the most common questions about the Covenant of Mayors. The information you will find here is both for people with a general interest in the Covenant of Mayors and for Covenant signatories, Supporters or Coordinators looking for specific information. The FAQs are updated on a regular basis to reflect the most relevant questions coming from the Covenant Community.

Use the menu on the right to quickly find the answer you are looking for!

If your question is not in the list, you are welcome to get directly in touch with the Covenant Helpdesk at info@eumayors.eu.

The Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy - Europe

What is the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy?

The Covenant of Mayors is the first and most ambitious initiative targeting local and subnational authorities to lead the fight against climate change launched by the European Commission. From 2008 to date, the Covenant of Mayors has developed into the leading movement of local and subnational authorities committed to take actions towards sustainable energy, including alleviation of energy poverty, and climate change adaptation. Read more on the origins and the development of the initiative here.

The Covenant of Mayors is a voluntary-based initiative (free of charge) focused on the proactive role of local authorities to reduce greenhouse gases emissions and make territories resilient to the impacts of climate change by developing and implementing a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan with tangible targets and goals.

Increasing energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources on our territories, thus ensuring universal access to secure, sustainable and affordable energy services for all.

What are the benefits of tackling climate change with the Covenant of Mayors initiative?

The European Commission supports local and subnational authorities of the Covenant of Mayors signatories through the Covenant of Mayors Office in charge of coordinating and implementing the whole initiative. Its roles are to build capacities in climate mitigation and adaptation, provide tailored administrative and technical assistance with dedicated helpdesks, inform signatories on EU financial opportunities as well as learning opportunities through events and webinars, promoting achievements and good practices at international level and connect the Covenant community with expert knowledge and international cooperation opportunities with peers.

Covenant signatories benefit from the highest level of technical support by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission which offers an evaluation of action plans with tailored recommendations for improvements. The JRC also offer technical helpdesk for technical inquiries and elaborates technical guidance documents for Covenant signatories. The information reported in the action plans is also useful to inform European policy.

Moreover, the European Commission has committed to mobilize financial resources through programmes as well as political support at European level and has dedicated access to financial opportunities for signatories.

Covenant signatories have visibility at international level with a dedicated profile on the European Covenant of Mayors website as well as on the Global Covenant of Mayors website. Networking opportunities at international level and capacity building events are offered and continuously updated on the Covenant website.

Covenant signatories have at their disposal a reporting platform which is free of charge (MyCovenant) and accessible anytime. Through the platform, it is easy to keep track of progress by comparing emission inventories throughout time and follow the results and efforts made. The platform also serves as a learning tool with a diverse set of resources including e-learning modules on technical aspects (available in 5 languages), a library with the latest available resources and Discussion Forums offering opportunities for interactions with the members of the Covenant Community.

How are Covenant commitments translated in actions?

The Covenant of Mayors commitments are translated into actions through the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan and associated monitoring reports. Signatories firstly assess their local context by producing a Baseline Emission Inventory (BEI) and a Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (RVA); secondly, they develop the action plan, based on the results of the BEI and RVA, identifying coherent and consistent mitigation and adaptation actions; and thirdly, they produce monitoring reports. More specifically, signatories commit to developing and submitting the following using the MyCovenant platform:

A strategy with a long-term vision including climate adaptation and mitigation targets and goals (within 2 years).

A BEI quantifying the energy consumed and therefore the emissions emitted in the signatory's territory (within 2 years).

Monitoring progress on implementation of actions (every 2 years after submission of the action plan) and on emissions (every 4 years after submission of the action plan).

What are the minimum reporting requirements?

The minimum reporting requirements refer to the mandatory information of the action plan and monitoring reports that shall be reported in the MyCovenant platform. Please consult the Covenant reporting guidelines for more detailed information.

Note: For the Covenant of Mayors signatories with 2020 target and for Mayors Adapt signatories (meaning for cities who joined the initiative before October 2015), the reporting requirements remain the same, with the commitment to submit monitoring reports every two years. However, these signatories are strongly encouraged to renew their Covenant commitments to align with the 2030 targets. Read below how:

Be part of the Covenant of Mayors Community!

Who can be a Signatory of the Covenant of Mayors Europe?

Any European local authority can be a signatory to the Covenant of Mayors – Europe, irrespective of its population, as long as it is represented by an elected municipal council or equivalent decision-making body with elected members. Read below how:How to join as an individual signatory?

Local authorities sharing territorial boundaries can also join the Covenant of Mayors as a group of signatories for the preparation of a joint action plan. Read below how:How to join as a group of signatories?

When can a local authority join the Covenant initiative?

Local authorities can join the initiative at any time, there is no deadline!Also, there is no need to have an action plan already developed before joining the initiative.

Covenant of Mayors Ceremonies offer all Mayors an opportunity for a symbolic signature of the Covenant’ commitments as well as networking with the Covenant community.

Is there any fee associated with Covenant of Mayors initiative?

No. The Covenant of Mayors is a bottom-up and voluntary initiative and there is no fee associated when joining.

How to join as an individual signatory?

There are only three steps for joining the initiative: 1. discussing and adopting the Covenant commitment document by the municipal council (or equivalent decision-making body); 2. completing the Covenant adhesion form (available in national languages) and having it signed by the Mayor; 3. registering your local authority in MyCovenant.

After verification of your registration and uploaded documents, the Covenant of Mayors Office approves your application. Credentials for logging into MyCovenant are granted only after the approval of your application.

Note your local authority will not be immediately visible on the Covenant website although the list of signatories is periodically updated.

My local authority is already a signatory, how do I renew the Covenant commitments?

If you are an existing signatory of the Covenant of Mayors that joined before October 2015 and/or the Mayors Adapt initiatives and you wish to renew your commitments to align with the 2030 targets, please follow these steps:

Adopt the following Covenant of Mayors commitment document within the municipal council (or equivalent decision-making body).

Complete the adhesion form.

Enter your existing profile in MyCovenant (there is no need to register and create a new profile in MyCovenant!), update your population data and upload the adhesion form, and possibly, a copy of the municipal council decision by clicking on ‘renew’. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please contact the helpdesk (info@eumayors.eu).

If you would like to renew the Covenant commitment and change the type of adhesion from individual to a group of signatories, please contact the helpdesk (info@eumayors.eu).

I am a signatory of the Mayors Adapt initiative, what do I need to do?

The Mayors Adapt initiative no longer exists. For Mayors Adapt signatories, the reporting requirements remain the ones as defined in the commitment document adopted when joining the initiative. This means: committing to the development of a local adaptation strategy and/or mainstreaming adaptation into relevant sectors within two years and producing monitoring reports every two years. You are highly encouraged to consider renewing your commitments to align with the 2030 targets. Read below:My local authority is already a signatory, how do I renew the Covenant commitments?

Signatories accept suspension of their involvement in the initiative in case they do not submit the above-mentioned documents within the established deadlines. As soon as signatories submit their requested documents, they are reintegrated as active signatories of the Covenant of Mayors.

How to join as a group of signatories?

The Joint Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan approach is specially designed for the case of small-sized municipalities within the same territorial area, i.e. ensuring territorial continuity, with indicatively less than 10,000 inhabitants each.

There are two options to develop a joint action plan:

Option 1 ‘individual CO2 reduction commitment’: each signatory in the group individually commits to reducing CO2 emissions by at least 40% by 2030. Each signatory is required to report the action plan in the individual profile of MyCovenant platform. The action plan document shall be uploaded in each profile of the members of the group and shall be approved by each municipal council.

Option 2 ‘shared CO2 reduction commitment’: the group of signatories collectively commits to reducing CO2 emissions by at least 40% by 2030. The group is required to report only one action plan for the whole group in MyCovenant platform. The action plan document to upload is one and it includes all the members of the group, thus, each municipal council shall approve it.

In both cases, the ‘group of Signatories’ is strongly encouraged to appoint a body/authority responsible for coordinating the work throughout the action plan development and implementation process. It could be one of the municipalities among the group or the province / region acting as official Covenant Coordinator (see the list of Covenant Coordinators).

How to complete my groups profile?

For Option 1, each local authority completes the adhesion form (available only in English).

For Option 2, only one adhesion form for the whole group must be completed (available only in English)

Register the group selecting either ‘commitment separately’ (Option1) or ‘committing together’ (Option 2); choose the name of your group; identify the Main Contact for the whole group (e.g. one of the local authorities) and upload the adhesion forms in Option 1 or one adhesion form in Option 2, and possibly, a copy of the municipal council decisions.

Add the members of your group, after each member has registered.

The Covenant of Mayors Office reserves the right to decline any application which would not comply with the eligibility criteria.

If your group of signatories wishes to renew the Covenant commitments and some of the members of the groups have changed, please contact the helpdesk (info@eumayors.eu)

Supporting the Covenant of Mayors' Initiative

What is the Covenant of Mayors Office?

Funded by the European Commission, the Covenant of Mayors Office (CoMO) is responsible for the overall coordination and implementation of the initiative. The Office provides assistance to the Community from the registration process to the development and reporting of the action plan. The CoMO is managed by a consortium of European networks and associations representing local and regional authorities composed of Energy Cities, CEMR, Climate Alliance, EUROCITIES, FEDARENE and ICLEI Europe. CoMO works closely with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre for the implementation of the initiative.

What is the role of the Covenant of Mayors Office?

The Covenant of Mayors Office operates as the primary interface for the Covenant of Mayors community. It aims to:

Assist local authorities in joining the initiative through the adhesion and registration process.

Building capacities of signatories through guidance documents and webinars and events.

Liaise with the Joint Research Centre for the evaluation of the action plans.

Facilitate networking activities within the Covenant of Mayors Community.

Where to find support in the Covenant Helpdesk?

Ad-hoc helpdesks are established to provide support and assistance to the Covenant Community.The helpdesk supports signatories in all the steps of the Covenant of Mayors process, from registration and renewal of commitments to inputting data in MyCovenant for action plans and monitoring. You can reach the helpdesk via email (info@eumayors.eu) and telephone (+32 2 646 84 24).

Note that the helpdesk does not provide pre-evaluation of your action plan. An official feedback report is sent in due course to signatories by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre.

A national helpdesk for Italian speaking signatories is also established and it can be reached via email (info@eumayors.eu) and telephone (+39 075 852 04 29).The Coordinators’ helpdesk is dedicated to Covenant Coordinators and it is reachable via email (coordinators@eumayors.eu).The Supporters’ helpdesk is dedicated to Covenant Supporters and it is reachable via email (supporters@eumayors.eu).

For more specific technical questions on the methodological requirements or questions related to the JRC feedback reports, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre has established two technical helpdesks, one on mitigation-related queries reachable via email (jrc-com-technical-helpdesk@ec.europa.eu) and another one on adaptation-related queries reachable via email (jrc-com-adapt@ec.europa.eu).

Where to find technical and financial support to develop the action plan?

If a signatory lacks technical and financial resources to prepare its action plan, it is recommended to reach out to the Covenant Coordinators or Supporters in its country or region.

For technical guidance on the action plan, please consult the guidebook for Covenant signatories developed by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre:

Numerous sources of financing are available at local, regional, and European levels, including: local authorities' own resources, local partners' resources, public-private partnerships, municipal, regional and national subsidies. To find out more about European funding opportunities, consult the Covenant webpage dedicated to funding and financing opportunities.

What is a Covenant Coordinator?

Covenant Coordinators are public authorities that are in a position to provide strategic guidance, technical and financial support to Covenant of Mayors signatories and municipalities wishing to be part of the initiative.

Covenant Territorial Coordinators are decentralised authorities, such as regions, provinces or grouping of local authorities.

Covenant National Coordinators are national public bodies such as ministries or national energy agencies.

What is the role of Covenant Coordinators?

The European Commission recognises Covenant Coordinators as important allies to support Covenant of Mayors signatories to meet their commitments and increase the impact of the Covenant.

Typical tasks of the Covenant Coordinators include:

Promote accession to the Covenant of Mayors.

Provide technical and strategic assistance to signatory municipalities for the development, implementation and monitoring of the action plans.

Provide financial support to signatories, either in the form of direct support (grants, subsidies, etc.) and technical support via allocating for instance human resources or dedicated offices or conducting a CO2 emission inventory and/or a climate risk assessment, as well as in preparing and implementing the action plan.

Support experience and knowledge sharing between (existing and potential) signatories.

Work in partnership with other Covenant National/Territorial Coordinators and Supporters to foster joint approaches.

Participate in the Covenant of Mayors activities and organize relevant events to promote the initiative.

Report regularly, and not less than every two years, to the Covenant of Mayors Office the activities carried out to support signatories and participate in the strategic implementation of the Covenant.

Covenant Coordinators’ participation in the initiative will be suspended by the Covenant of Mayors Office in case of non-compliance with the above-mentioned commitments.

How, in practice, are the Covenant Coordinators involved in the initiative and what are the benefits?

The advantages of becoming Covenant Supporter are manifold:

Endorsement and recognition from the European Commission.

Large visibility on an international scale, notably through promotion of their actions on the Covenant website.

Networking and experience and knowledge-sharing with European counterparts.

Participation in dedicated discussion groups, workshops and other experience-sharing platforms.

Last but not least, consolidation of territorial development and strengthening of local governance.

In practice, your organisation as Covenant Supporter has access to the password-protected platform MyCovenant, to share information and key data with the whole Covenant community, and increase the visibility of your organisation.

Through MyCovenant, a Supporter can:

Keep its profile always up-to-date.

Make Good Practice (i.e. your key implemented actions) visible to the Covenant community and beyond.

Upload and share useful resources on the Capacity Sharing corner, and participate in discussion groups.

Publish events in the agenda.

Network with the Covenant community (through forums, webinars, events) and get inspired by their actions.

How to apply as a Coordinator?

If your administration is interested in becoming an official Covenant Coordinator, please follow these steps:

After confirmation of eligibility, fill in and sign the commitment statement you will receive by the coordinators helpdesk, and send it back to coordinators@eumayors.eu.

Upon reception of the duly filled in and signed commitment statement, the Covenant of Mayors Office will create an online profile for your administration that will allow you to actively participate in the Covenant of Mayors community and help you better support your associated signatories.

For any questions, contact the coordinators helpdesk (coordinators@eumayors.eu).

How to associate signatories to your Coordinator’ profile?

Signatories can decide to associate their profiles to a Coordinator's profile during the registration process.Alternatively, signatories can be associated with a Coordinator's profile by sending a written request to the helpdesk (info@eumayors.eu).

How to renew your commitments as Covenant Coordinator?

If you have signed a commitment statement before 2015, there is no obligation to renew your commitment. However, your associated signatories could be encouraged to renew their commitments in order to upgrade their ambitions.If you would like to renew your commitments, please follow the steps indicated in How to apply as a Coordinator?

What is a Covenant Supporter?

Covenant Supporters are associations of local and regional authorities, networks, thematic local and regional agencies and not-for-profit organisations with the capacity to promote the Covenant of Mayors in their context and to mobilise and support signatories to attain the Covenant of Mayors objectives. They leverage their advocacy, communication and networking activities to promote the Covenant of Mayors initiative and support the commitments of their signatories.The list of Covenant Supporters can be found here.

What is the role of Covenant Supporters?

Having expert knowledge of the regulatory, legislative and financial framework under which they operate, Covenant Supporters are ideally placed to provide tailored advice to signatories and identify synergies with existing initiatives. They can also provide technical expertise to Covenant signatories.

Tasks to be undertaken by a Covenant Supporter include:

Promote the Covenant of Mayors initiative, mobilising existing and potential signatories (for example by adapting Covenant promotional materials to their national or regional contexts and disseminating those through newsletters, website, workshops, events).

Support and advise Covenant of Mayors signatories.

Support exchanges and share knowledge, experiences, best practices, tools or resources relevant to Covenant signatories.

Work in Partnership with other Covenant Supporters and National/Territorial Coordinators, Signatories and stakeholders involved in the Covenant of Mayors-related policies to foster joint action and promote a coordinated approach.

Better accompany the activities of their supported signatories on sustainable energy and climate adaptation.

Participate in Covenant of Mayors activities, and help identify relevant events where the Covenant of Mayors could be promoted.

Report regularly, and not less than every two years, to the Covenant of Mayors Office on the activities carried out in the framework of the initiative, and participate in the strategic implementation of the Covenant.

Covenant Supporters’ participation in the initiative will be suspended by the Covenant of Mayors Office in case of non-compliance with the above-mentioned commitments.

How, in practice, are Covenant Supporters involved in the initiative and what are the benefits?

The advantages of becoming Covenant Supporter are manifold:

Endorsement and recognition from the European Commission

Large visibility on an international scale, notably through promotion of their actions on the Covenant website.

Networking and experience and knowledge-sharing with European counterparts.

Participation in dedicated discussion groups, workshops and other experience-sharing platforms.

Last but not least, consolidation of territorial development and strengthening of local governance.

In practice, your organisation as Covenant Supporter has access to the password-protected area of the website ’MyCovenant’, which offers a platform to share information and key data with the whole Covenant community, and increase the visibility of your organisation.

Through MyCovenant a Supporter can:

Keep your profile always up-to-date.

Make your Good Practices (i.e. your key implemented actions) visible to the Covenant community and beyond.

Upload and share useful resources on the Capacity sharing platform, and participate to discussion groups.

Publish your events in the agenda.

Network with the Covenant community (through forums, webinars, events …) and get inspired by their actions.

How to apply as a Supporter?

If your organisation is interested in becoming an official Covenant Supporter, please follow these steps:

After confirmation of eligibility, fill in and sign the commitment statement you will receive, and send it back to the supporters’ helpdesk (supporters@eumayors.eu).

Upon reception of the duly filled in and signed commitment statement, the Covenant of Mayors Office will create an online profile for your organisation that will allow you to actively participate in the Covenant of Mayors community and help you better support your associated signatories.

For any question, contact the supporters’ helpdesk (supporters@eumayors.eu)

How to renew your commitment as Supporter?

There is no obligation for the existing Covenant of Mayors Supporters to renew their commitment. The organisation will keep its status, and can decide if and when to renew its commitments to support signatories in achieving their 2030 targets, and develop their adaptation actions. You should however encourage your members and signatories of your territory to renew their commitments in order to scale up their ambitions.

I am not a Covenant Supporter yet and I would like to join the Covenant, how can I join?

MyCovenant

What is MyCovenant?

MyCovenant is an online platform accessible to Covenant Signatories, Coordinators and Supporters for reporting on the initiative to the Covenant of Mayors Office (CoMO) and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. It includes the sections My Strategy, My Inventories, and My Actions which are the core of the Covenant reporting and monitoring framework. For more information on how to use MyCovenant for reporting purposes, consult the reporting guidelines.

How to recover my username?

Please contact the helpdesk at info@eumayors.eu with indication of the name of the signatory and name of the country.

How to reset my password?

Do not send your personal password to the helpdesk and do not reply to the message received by the platform with the credentials. Credentials messages are not meant to be shared with the helpdesk. In case of any doubts or question, please contact the helpdesk at info@eumayors.eu.

Why I cannot login into MyCovenant?

This may be due to the following reasons:

You have typed the same email address for the Mayor and the Main Contact, please contact the helpdesk (info@eumayors.eu) with indication of the second email address to be used as user email for the Mayor or Main Contact and the contact details in case you have registered the Mayor and the Main Contact with the same information.

Your application is under evaluation, please contact the helpdesk (info@eumayors.eu)

Why can't I register the name of my local government in MyCovenant?

Your local authority is already registered in MyCovenant. Please contact the helpdesk (info@eumayors.eu) to retrieve your credentials, indicating the name of your local authority and your country.

How to unsubscribe from the newsletter?

To unsubscribe, please enter MyCovenant, go to your Contact Profile (e.g. Mayors, Main Contact, Other) and deselect the subscription to the Newsletter(s).

The Sustainable Energy & Climate Action Plan (SECAP)

What is a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan?

The Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan is the key implementation tool for the Covenant signatories. The action plan defines mitigation target(s) and adaptation goal(s) and is based on a Baseline Emission Inventory and a Risk & Vulnerability Assessment, which provide an analysis of the current situation at a given moment. They serve as a basis for defining a comprehensive set of actions that signatories plan to undertake in order to reach the climate mitigation and adaptation goals, as well as alleviation of energy poverty.

Local authorities joining the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy initiative commit to submitting an action plan within two years of the formal signing to the initiative.

What are the differences between SEAP and SECAP?

SEAP stands for Sustainable Energy Action Plan and is the implementation tool for signatories that joined the Covenant of Mayors before October 2015. The action plan aims to reduce GHG emissions by at least 20% by 2020.

SECAP stands for Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan and is the current implementation tool for signatories of the Covenant of Mayors. The action plan aims to reduce GHG emissions by at least 40% by 2030, adapt to the impacts of climate change and alleviate energy poverty.

Can existing local climate and energy strategies and plans satisfy the requirements of the Covenant of Mayors?

Yes. Only when the existing strategies, policies and plans fulfil the minimal requirements set in the context of the Covenant of Mayors. They need to spell out the Covenant commitments (i.e. at least 40% reduction of GHG emissions by 2030, adapt to the impacts of climate change and alleviate energy poverty), and need to include an emission inventory and a risk and vulnerability assessment. A compilation of several documents is also accepted; however, the information shall be reported in a concise and unified way in MyCovenant.

Browse and use the E-learning section available in the Capacity sharing corner in MyCovenant in 5 languages and watch the webinar recordings in the Library.

How to submit the action plan?

The action plan is submitted online via the reporting platform MyCovenant. The information of your action plan document shall be reported in a concise way. The platform MyCovenant must be completed in English.

For a valid submission, all mandatory fields must be completed (indicated in green in the platform) and at least one action plan document (e.g. mitigation action plan/adaptation action plan/integrated mitigation and adaptation action plan) shall be uploaded. This plan(s) shall be duly approved by the municipal council or equivalent decision-making body. The upload of additional documents is optional. All documents should be uploaded in a pdf format, in the national language, unless an English translation is available. Moreover, you can decide to make public these documents by ticking on the box ‘make public’.

If you encounter problems during the submission of your action plan, please contact the helpdesk (info@eumayors.eu).

Why does my Reporting Corner have incomplete sections?

In the Reporting Corner, ‘My Overview’ indicates the status of completion of each reporting section using the following indicators: complete, incomplete and not applicable. If incomplete sections are detected, the system displays notification error messages at the bottom of each section. Please revise carefully the information reported according to the Covenant reporting guidelines, complete the information indicated in green, save all information and click on submit.

If the problem persists, please contact the helpdesk (info@eumayors.eu).

Can I upload the Excel file of the action plan?

No. The Excel file is for offline use only and it is available in order to facilitate the preparation of the action plan and its reporting in MyCovenant. The data and information contained in this document shall be transferred in the Reporting Corner sections in order to submit your action plan.

I have already submitted an action plan (SEAP, with 2020 target), how do I submit the new action plan (SECAP, with 2030 targets)?

The information on your SECAP reported in MyCovenant supersedes the ones previously reported on your former SEAP (and archived when submitted). In practical terms, you shall overtype the sections of the Reporting Corner, save all data entered and click on submit/or resubmit. Read also: How to submit the action plan?

What if a signatory fails to submit the action plan?

As described in the Covenant commitment document, a signatory is suspended in case it fails to submit the action plan and the full monitoring report within the deadlines. When a signatory is suspended, the profile on the Covenant of Mayors website will indicate the suspension. However, after submission of the action plan or the full monitoring report, the suspension will no longer be shown.

From the Covenant commitment document: “Suspension in case of non-compliance”'Signatories accept to be suspended from the initiative " subject to prior notice in writing by the Covenant of Mayors Office " in the event of non-submission of the above-mentioned documents (i.e. Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan and Monitoring Reports) within the established deadlines. This procedure ensures transparency, robustness and fairness vis-à-vis other signatories who deliver on their commitments'

How to request an extension of the deadline of the action plan?

You can request an extension of your deadline one time only. A 9-month extension is granted whereas circumstances, outside the local authority’ control, delay the submission of the action plan or monitoring report.To request an extension of the deadline, signatories need to fill in the online delay request in MyCovenant providing a short justification. If you don’t receive a confirmation email, please contact the helpdesk (info@eumayors.eu).

An extension of 18 months is granted to signatories supported by an official Covenant Territorial Coordinator (CTC), in this case the Covenant Coordinator requests an extension via its profile in MyCovenant for its associated signatories.

My local authority was suspended, what do I need to do?

If your local authority has been suspended due to failures in the submission of the action plan and/or monitoring report within the deadlines, it is necessary to submit the above-mentioned documents in order to terminate the suspension status. If you have recently renewed your commitments, your suspension status will cease once you submit the new action plan (SECAP).

When will my action plan be evaluated?

Your action plan will be evaluated indicatively between 6-9 months following the submission date through a feedback report elaborated by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre.

What is a grouped evaluation of action plans?

In cases where a Covenant Coordinator is coordinating the action plans, a grouped analysis can be carried out by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) in order to provide faster feedback. If your province/region has developed a common approach to assist signatories with their action plans you are kindly invited to contact the JRC: jrc-com-technical-helpdesk@ec.europa.eu and coordinators@eumayors.eu. Please consult the quick reference guide on grouped secap.

My Inventories

What is the Baseline Emission Inventory?

The Baseline Emission Inventory (BEI) quantifies the amount of GHG emitted due to energy consumption and it focuses on the activity sectors under the direct influence of the local authority. The BEI is not meant to be an exhaustive inventory, it mainly focuses on the emissions from final energy consumption in the Covenant key sectors. The BEI shows the emissions in the baseline year (the reference year for your target setting and plan development) in order to identify the actions necessary to reach the emission reduction target.

The Baseline Emission Inventory serves, along with the Risk and Vulnerability Assessment, as the starting point for the development of the action plan.

What is the Baseline Year?

The Baseline year is the (reference) year against which the emissions reduction target is compared. Signatories who would like to compare their emission reduction with the EU target are invited to take 1990 as reference year. However, due to the difficulties to obtain sufficiently reliable data, signatories are encouraged to choose the closest subsequent year for which comprehensive and reliable data exist. If possible, this baseline year should not be later than 2005 which is the most commonly used year by covenant signatories.See the base years adopted by Covenant signatories here.

How many sectors do I need to complete in the Emission Inventory?

The Covenant key mitigation sectors are: Municipal buildings, equipment/facilities; Tertiary (non-municipal) buildings, equipment/facilities; Residential buildings; and Transport.As a minimum, data for three out of the four Covenant key sectors shall be reported in the Baseline Emission Inventory. Optionally, data for additional sectors can be reported.

Where to find data for the Baseline Emission Inventory?

To produce the Baseline Emission Inventory, signatories can get support and find relevant data from Regional Emission observatories or from their national authorities. Data can be also obtained using a bottom-up approach including data from energy bills, reaching out to energy providers, and by conducting surveys on inhabitants and businesses and calculating the amount of fuel sold for the transport sector. Signatories can also reach out to Covenant Coordinators, Local and Regional Energy Agencies that collect useful data for the local emissions inventories.More details on how to collect data can be found in Part 2 - Baseline Emission Inventory(BEI) and Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (RVA)

What is a Risk and Vulnerability Assessment?

The Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (RVA) is an analysis of the relevant risks and vulnerabilities, by analysing climate hazards and assessing vulnerability (of sectors) that could pose a potential threat or harm to people, property, livelihoods and the environment on which they depend. The assessment could address for instance risks related to floods, extreme temperatures and heat waves, droughts and water scarcity, storms and other extreme weather events, increased forest fires, sea level rise and coastal erosion. More information is available in the guidebook here.The Risk and Vulnerability Assessment serves, along with the Baseline Emission Inventory, as the starting point for the development of the Action Plan. It shall be included in your action plan and reported using the MyCovenant platform at the action plan submission stage (i.e. within 2 years of joining the initiative), while updated information shall be reported at the monitoring stage (i.e. using the monitoring template in MyCovenant).The RVA shall identify the most relevant climate hazards and vulnerable sectors. Optionally, adaptive capacity and vulnerable population groups could also be identified and assessed.

For guidance on how to complete the Risk and Vulnerability Assessment in MyCovenant, refer to the reporting guidelines.

How many sectors do I need to report in the Risk and Vulnerability Assessment

At least one sector must be selected for each relevant climate hazard.

Which tool supports the Risk and Vulnerability Assessment?

The Urban Adaptation Support Tool developed by the European Environment Agency and the Covenant of Mayors Office provides step-by-step guidance for the entire adaptation cycle, and the Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (RVA). The tool furthermore provides support in utilizing the RVA and in translating findings into adaptation measures.
You can find the Urban Adaptation Support Tool here.

Joint Action Plan

What is a joint action plan?

A joint action plan is a plan carried out collectively by a group of adjoining local authorities. The group co-defines a common long-term vision, prepares an emission inventory and a risk and vulnerability assessment and identifies a set of actions on the territories of the members of the group. Note that each member shall approve the action plan.

How to submit a joint action plan?

With Option 1 – individual CO2 reduction commitment, each signatory of the group individually commits to reduce CO2 emissions and for this reason, it is necessary to complete the action plan reporting for each individual members’ profiles. The action plan document to upload in MyCovenant is common for all signatories in the group, must clearly indicate the names of the local authorities and has to be approved by each municipal council. Consult the quick reference guide on joint action plans.

Joint action plans in OPTION 1 can contain both individual and shared measures. The impacts on energy savings, renewable energy production and CO2 emissions reduction corresponding to the joint measures is divided among each municipality adopting shared actions in their individual action plan templates.

With Option 2 – shared CO2 reduction commitment, the group of signatories collectively commits to reducing CO2 emissions and for this reason, it is necessary to complete one action plan reporting for the entire group in its profile. The action plan document to upload in MyCovenant is common for all signatories in the group, must clearly indicate the names of the local authorities and has to be approved by each municipal council.In this case, the emission reduction target is shared between the members of the group. The action plan can contain both individual and shared actions (at least one shared action should be included).The names of each local authority as well as their contribution to the plan must be clearly indicated in the action plan document.

Monitoring Report

What is a monitoring report and its deadlines?

Monitoring is a crucial part of any planning process and aims at understanding the progress achieved according to the mitigation and adaptation goals and targets and, plan for corrective actions.

Covenant signatories monitor regularly the action plan by submitting every two years after the submission of their action plan a monitoring report on the implementation status of their actions (light monitoring) and, at least, every four years a monitoring report on emissions through a Monitoring Emissions Inventory (MEI) as well as on the implementation status of their actions (full monitoring). Elaborating these reference emissions inventories is of critical importance as they are the instruments to measure the impacts of the action plan.

For example: in the case of an action plan submitted in 2016, the monitoring report on the updated status of actions shall be submitted by 2018, the monitoring report with a MEI and on updated status of actions shall be submitted by 2020. As this is a cycle with regular intervals, the monitoring reports are alternate to one another. This is an opportunity to provide updated information as well as to make adjustments in order to reach climate targets and goals. Signatories are encouraged to upload MEIs with smaller intervals, for example, each year, if data is available.

Note that in the full monitoring report is necessary to indicate at least 3 key adaptation actions and 1 energy poverty action, i.e. 4 years after the submission of the action plan.

There is the possibility to upload supporting documents, however, relevant information included in these documents shall be reported in a concise way in MyCovenant.

How to submit the monitoring report?

After logging into MyCovenant and positioning on the Monitoring Report row in the list of Reporting Templates, it is necessary to complete and, if applicable, adjust the content of the sections (fields in green are mandatory). Click on submit in order to have your monitoring template officially submitted. A preliminary checking system of the template will allow the detection of errors.

Note that the monitoring report template has additional fields of information compared to the action plan template, please consult the reporting guidelines.

It is not possible to submit monitoring reports without having submitted an action plan first.

It is possible to submit a monitoring report for the Sustainable Energy Action Plan?

Yes, but only if you have not submitted your 2030 action plan. In case you have already submitted a new action plan (e.g. SECAP), the monitoring report cycle follows the new action plan and deadlines are recalculated.

How often do I need to report a Monitoring Emission Inventory?

The minimum interval for the MEI is every 4 years. Signatories are invited to report as many MEIs as they wish.

How to request an extension of the deadline of the monitoring report?

You can request an extension of the deadline of the monitoring report one time only. Extensions are granted only for the monitoring report including a Monitoring Emission Inventory. A 9-month extension is granted whereas circumstances, outside the local authority’ control, delay the submission of the monitoring report.

To request an extension of the deadline, signatories need to complete the online delay request in MyCovenant providing a short justification. If you don’t receive a confirmation email, please contact the helpdesk (info@eumayors.eu).

An extension of 18 months is granted to signatories supported by an official Covenant Territorial Coordinator (CTC), in this case the Covenant Coordinator requests an extension via its profile in MyCovenant for its associated signatories.